in remembrance of the man whomadej.r. ewingcometo life. he died yesterday in dallas, surrounded by family and by friends. nbc's kristen dahlgren takes a look back at hagman's life and his career. >> i was with her all alone -- >> reporter: for a time he was the most famous actor in the world. >> thanks to j.r. >> reporter: the subject of the biggest cliff-hanger ever. [ gunshot ] the question who shot j.r. catapulted larry hagman into tv history. for more than a decade hagman was the character audiences couldn't get enough of. the wicked, scheming j.r. ewing. the 81-year-old was reprising his role as j.r. in the tnt reboot of "dallas." >> you're not a kinder, gentler version of yourself? >> oh, hardly. >> reporter: along with family, his co-stars were at his side when hagman died at a dallas hospital friday. finally succumbing to the throat cancer he'd been battling. in a statement to nbc co-star linda grey said "larry hagman was my best friend for 35 years. he was the pied piper of life and brought joy to everyone he knew. the world was a brighter place because of him." on the site of th